Energy conservation is the practice of decreasing the quantity of energy used. Energy conservation may be achieved through efficient energy use, in which case energy use is decreased while achieving a similar outcome and/or by reduced consumption of energy services. Energy conservation may result in, for example, increase of financial capital, environmental value, national security, personal security, and human comfort. Individuals and organizations that are direct consumers of energy may want to conserve energy in order to reduce energy costs and promote economic security. Industrial and commercial users may want to increase efficiency and thus maximize profit.
Energy conservation is an important element of energy policy. Energy conservation reduces the energy consumption and energy demand per capita, and thus offsets the growth in energy supply needed to keep up with population growth. This reduces the rise in energy costs, and can reduce the need for new power plants and energy imports. The reduced energy demand can provide more flexibility in choosing the most preferred methods of energy production.
Additionally, by reducing emissions, energy conservation is an important part of lessening climate change. Energy conservation facilitates the replacement of non-renewable resources with renewable energy. Energy conservation is often the most economical solution to energy shortages, and is a more environmentally benign alternative to increased energy production.
In view of the above, people are looking for ways to reduce power consumption towards saving energy and reducing carbon footprints globally. For example, architects and civil engineers are looking for ways to design new energy efficient homes and offices, and individuals are looking for ways and mechanisms to reduce their personal power consumption.
However, there still exist many instances of wasted power consumption. For example, most device chargers (such as, for example, a cellular phone charger) continue to draw power when they are not charging a device. That is, even when a device is not connected to its charger, if the charger is plugged into a power outlet, the charger will continue to draw (and waste) power. Collectively, this wasted power costs billions of dollars globally. Moreover, with the increasing awareness and desire to operate in a green manner, such excessive use of energy is undesirable.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to overcome the deficiencies and limitations described hereinabove.